For Young Academic Achiever, Many Hurdles To Cross

MY WORD

April 30, 1990|By Mary E. Emerson

Occasionally there are articles about young children with high IQs skipping grades and graduating early. Each person will experience a different reaction from their schoolmates and friends. Let me tell you about mine.

At the age of 10, I finished the fourth grade and that fall entered the ninth grade. There were no big articles or announcements in the local paper. After all, I was just an African-American (called Negro in those years) girl from a Southern state.

I quietly took my place in class. Since I was large for my age, most of my classmates didn't notice the age difference. When school was over for the day, I played with children my own age - 9 and 10. By my senior year in high school I was only 14, so I couldn't date or go places my classmates went. It didn't bother me; my neighborhood friends were still my playmates.

Skipping grades also caused me to skip many lessons. I didn't learn how to do fractions or any of the other things taught in fifth through eighth grades. I went directly from elementary math to algebra and geometry. Somehow, I survived and graduated at the top of my class.

But when it came time to go to college, I didn't get any offers from the prestigious colleges. I did receive a four-year scholarship from Livingstone College, a private African-American school in North Carolina.

When I entered college, things changed drastically. Most of the freshmen were 18, some 19, and here I was, a 14-year-old. Horrors! No one wanted to share a room with me. When a roommate was assigned to me, she wouldn't talk to me. I was too young to understand anything she might have to say. Finally, I assured her that I had been in school for the past four years with students four years older than me.

That explanation seemed to satisfy most of my classmates. Then another hurdle arose. If anyone was having a problem with a subject, they came to me for answers. It didn't matter whether I was taking the course. I just had to know the answer. After all, I had to know everything!

By my senior year, I had made many friends. They had finally come to realize that I was just another senior, albeit a little younger. I was selected by the faculty to be a senior advisor to the incoming freshmen. Another hurdle had been crossed.

I completed my practice teaching in Charlotte, N.C. At 18, I graduated with honors, with no idea of what I was going to do. I hadn't sent out resumes like the rest of my classmates. The superintendent of schools in Charlotte called my home during the summer to see if I was interested in teaching there.

I immediately said, ''No.'' My father immediately said, ''Yes.'' So began another hurdle to cross.

I was assigned to a senior high school. I was younger than many of my senior students, a fact they somehow found out about very early. Another hurdle. We finally came to an understanding that I was the teacher, and they were the students. I remained at the school for four wonderful years.

If I had to do it over - would I? You bet I would. Every moment, every hurdle! I crossed many hurdles and learned a lot.